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If you want to generate social media buzz, Corbett Drummey is your guy. He has assembled an army of people with big followings on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snap and other platforms who are willing to spread the word about you to their followers—for a price.

Shiftgig, an on-demand staffing platform, didn't have to look far for a new CEO. Wade Burgess, a LinkedIn veteran, takes over the top job from co-founder Eddie Lou, who becomes executive chairman.

Burgess sees opportunity in the gig economy. "There's a very obvious change in the relationship between employee and employer. The gig economy is the next version of that. I was looking for the right company. Shiftgig is first and foremost a technology company that happens to be in the talent space."

Mark Hasebroock, founder of Omaha-based Dundee Venture Capital, was recently selected as a member of the Kauffman Fellows’ current class. He is one of 51 members chosen from around the world and has the unique distinction of being the first Kauffman Fellow from the state of Nebraska.

SpotHero, which recently bought rival Parking Panda, raised another $30 million to continue expanding its footprint and its technology. The latest infusion of cash brings SpotHero's total fundraising to $57.5 million.

Telnyx, a leading provider of global carrier-grade VoIP services, announced today its partnership with Cisco Meraki as its exclusive SIP trunking provider in Canada. Telnyx’s unique Mission Control™ portal and API give users the ability to instantly provision and elastically scale telephony services on-demand in more than 30 countries.

Shiftgig — a startup that has built a mobile platform for hourly workers to pick up shifts at local businesses looking for staff to fill gaps in their schedules — is today announcing that it has raised $20 million to scale up its marketplace.

Zipwhip, which has built a platform to let people with mobile phones send text messages to businesses that call them from landline phones, is today announcing that it has raised $9 million in funding. The Series B was led by VC Voyager Capital, with participation also from strategic backers Microsoft Ventures, regional telecom GCI, and Inteliquent, an interconnection partner for communications service providers.

In a sign of the validity and mainstream acceptance of telehealth technology, online retailer 1-800-CONTACTS has partnered with a Chicago-based startup called Opternative to allow patients to update their prescriptions from the comfort of their own homes.

Lakewest Venture Partners

Lakewest Venture Partners is an affiliate of Lakewest, Inc., a real estate and private equity company located in Chicago. It is led by Buzz Ruttenberg, David Mann and Jonathan McCulloch and was formed to pursue seed and early stage investment opportunities primarily in Chicago. Our investments and participation in companies can range from passive $50,000-$100,000 investments to those in excess of $1,000,000 with board involvement. Our primary investment capital is sourced in-house which makes our decision-making process straightforward and swift. We also operate a fund raised from private investors for additional investment capacity.